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Undergraduate

B.A. in Communication Studies

BigThings2

Big things are coming to the Department of Communication Studies! The Communication Studies Department is pleased to announce upcoming changes to our undergraduate curriculum. Beginning in 2013, students majoring in Communication Studies will have the option to choose to study interpersonal, health, social media and communication technology, or strategic and organizational communication. An Integrated Communication Studies track, designed to expose students to a more general communication education, will also be available.

FAQ Students will work closely with their major advisors to choose the track that is appealing to them and matches their future career goals. A degree in Communication Studies opens doors to allow students to be successful in just about any career- from healthcare to human resources, from sales to social media, from image management to promotions. The new curriculum will make students with a B.A. in Communication Studies even more attractive to potential employers or graduate programs. Big things can happen with a Communication Studies degree!

Communication is a liberal studies degree. It includes a variety of types of knowledge and ways of thinking. Students of communication are interested in all aspects of human communication. While human communication is unique and varied, there is also much about it that is routine and predictable.

Communication scholars seek to discover the mechanisms and rules that govern the wide range of communication activities using a battery of social scientific techniques. We try to develop theories that will account for why we act the way we do. As an academic discipline, Communication Studies is both young and old. If we consider our rhetorical past, we’re as old as any. If we consider that we’ve only been studying communication in a theoretical sense, for less than 50 years, then we’re very young. As an undergraduate in Communication Studies, we’ll try to teach you what we’ve learned over the last fifty years. As a result, you can expect a great range of topics. However, if your interests lay in a particular direction, our program should allow you to specialize as well.

If you’re here because you think Communication Studies classes are easy and you think this is an easy degree, guess again. Over half of students identifying as Pre-Communication Studies are not accepted into the B.A. program. You’ll also find that while our service courses are designed for the general student population, upper division coursework involves a considerable amount of writing, reading, and forethought. Our graduates are successful as academics and professionals, and many will tell you that our program was much tougher than they had initially thought.

Important Links

Academic Advising

The Department of Communication Studies has three undergraduate faculty advisors:

The advisors are here to counsel and advise you on the rules, regulations, and courses that are necessary for the completion of the Communication Studies degree program.

Learn more about Advising

From Day One to a Degree in Communication Studies

Use the navigation window below to follow the path from freshman orientation to graduation and beyond. This presentation is also on display in the Communication Studies main office.

Study Abroad in Germany and Hungary

Summer Study Abroad 2013

In Summer 2012, Communication Studies majors and minors had their first chance to study abroad with the Department in two distinct locations in Eastern Europe: Erfurt, Germany and Budapest, Hungary. Nearly two dozen undergraduate and graduate students spent their summer connecting with new cultures in pursuit of their degrees.

Visit the Study Abroad Page
WVUCommMOOC

#WVUCommMOOC

Interested in technology and its impact on our daily lives? Well you may want to visit West Virginia University first MOOC. Never heard of a MOOC, no problem, the Department of Communication Studies in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences wants to introduce you to this new, free way of learning.

Read more about our MOOC

Be a WVU Comm Studies Alumni Mentor!

Serve as an Alumni Mentor

The Department of Communication Studies is piloting a Comm Studies Student-Alumni Mentoring Program. Please consider getting involved. It could consist of as little time as a 30 minute phone conversation with an undergraduate student once or twice a year to as extensive as allowing a student or new graduate to shadow you at work or offer internships for our students. You decide your level of involvement/commitment!

Sign up to be an Alumni Mentor